Editing Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle

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<center>''Were you looking for the [[Covenant]] equivalent used by [[Elite]]s, the [[Orbital Insertion Pod]]?''</center>
{{Individual ship infobox
|name=Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle
|image=[[Image:HEV-ODST-scaled.jpg|300px]]
|class=Insertion Vehicle (Human Entry Vehicle)
|manufacturer=
|modifier=
|sysmods=
|length=2.7 meters (9 feet)
|width=2.6 meters (8.5 feet)
|height=5.5 meters (18 feet)
|max accel=Freefall
|max speed space=
|max speed air=
|engine=
|slipspace drive=
|slipspace speed=
|poweroutput=
|power=
|shield gen=
|hull=
|sensor=
|target=
|navigation=
|avionics=
|countermeasures=
|armament=Small arms for ground combat are located within the vehicle. 
|complement=
|skeleton=
|passengers=1
|capacity=
|consumables=
|other systems=
|role=
|commission=
|first sighting=
|destroyed=
|retired=
|last sighting=
|battles=
|affiliation= *[[United Nations Space Command]]
|fleet=
|taskforce=
|owners=
|namedcrew=
|captains=
}}
A '''Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle''', also referred to as a '''Human Entry Vehicle''' or '''HEV''', is a small pod used by the [[United Nations Space Command]] to deploy an individual from high orbit to the ground.

== Operation ==
The SOEIV is an angular pod, approximately eighteen feet tall, eight and a half  feet wide, and nine feet deep with an entry hatch on one side. Within it is a crash seat, communications gear, numerous equipment racks, and a rudimentary control system. In spite of the size of the pod, there is not much room to move around, as the space given over to equipment storage lines the interior attached to the frame.

=== Doctrine ===
In use for nearly three decades,<ref name = "Xbox">''Xbox 360'' #35 pp34-37</ref> SOEIVs allowed for the rapid deployment of ground assault troops near or right onto an objective. Their smaller profiles made them more difficult to destroy by defensive fire than conventional [[dropships]]. Each pod bore the name of the soldier inside; amongst other things this identification could be used to identify the unfortunate occupant of a destroyed pod.

UNSC insertion protocols calls for the command unit of an SOEIV-facilitated assault to land first to minimize the period of disorder that might occur as pods landed and soldiers deployed. The reasons for this rule include the strongly held belief that officers should lead rather than follow, should be willing to do anything their troops are asked to do, and should expose themselves to the same level of danger as their subordinates. The commander’s pod is equipped with a lot of gear that the regular “eggs” are not, including high-powered imaging gear, tactical sensors, and a 4th generation, Class C Military "dumb" [[AI]]. SOEIV usage is popularly associated with the men of the elite [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]] divisions, although [[UNSC Special Forces]] operators and [[SPARTAN-II]] supersoldiers are known to use these as one of their primary infiltration methods as well <ref>''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'', page 350</ref> <ref>''[[Halo 2]]'', level ''[[Delta Halo (Level)|Delta Halo]]''</ref>.

=== Re-entry ===
[[Image:hevstohalo05.jpg|200px|thumb|right|SOEIVs carrying troopers from the [[7th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battalion|7th ODST Battalion]] over [[Installation 05]].]]
The trooper enters the SOEIV and straps in facing the hatch. The hardened and shielded communications gear, which is built directly into the hatch, feeds the soldier information relevant to the current operation as well as providing a link between all members of the unit during the drop. While within the SOEIV a soldier's helmet integrated comm units are redundant and are normally only used if the pod's comm gear malfunctions.

A 30-second countdown begins on the commander’s mark, and the SOEIVs fire quickly down through the ship’s belly. The SOEIV is balanced to stabilize in a feet-down position. The pod has limited maneuvering capability, used primarily to coordinate landings, but may be used to avoid defensive anti-aircraft fire. However, if defensive anti-aircraft is present it is almost a mathematical certainty that some pods will be lost. An SOEIV is made of [[Titanium-A]], [[Lead Foil]], and a ceramic skin. The skin burns away during atmospheric reentry, protecting the rest of the pod and its occupant from the worst of the considerable heat. The Lead Foil is there to keep the Armor from ripping away and to replace the ceramic skin once it burns away. However, as the ceramic skin burns away the air inside the pods comes unbelievably hot,<ref>''[[Halo: The Flood]]'', page 35</ref> and if the armored skin that covers a pod is damaged before or during its entry into atmosphere it has a tendency to fail spectacularly. And this is the reason for the SOEIV's small size — each hit only results in one death rather than the deaths of the entire unit. 
[[Image:Halo3-ODST PodConcept-03.jpg|thumb|left|An illustration of the layout of a SOEIV.]]
After the SOEIV has penetrated the atmosphere, at an altitude of 3,000ft,<ref name = "Xbox"/> the upper exterior panels separate acting as a drag-type chute, slowing its descent some and keep the pod on course. At about 50 meters, the pod’s computer controlled breaking rockets engage, slowing the pod further; allowing for a safe though somewhat abrupt landing. Drag chutes on SOEIVs do fail on rare occasions, leaving the pod’s occupant to die on impact. It’s the death that every ODST fears, and is referred to in hushed tones as “digging your own grave."

HEVs are capable of smashing through almost any surface during re-entry, including buildings.<ref name = "Xbox"/> However, a reinforced roof should be able to withstand the impact, allowing an ODST to begin his mission with a distinct vertical advantage.<ref> "[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]", page 132</ref>

Upon landing, each ODST is responsible for stripping their pod of its store of extra weapons, ammo, and other supplies, which are then hauled to the unit’s temporary base camp. ODSTs are used to operating without resupply for extended periods, and they are well known to be at their best when under difficult conditions.


=== Capacity ===
The vehicle contains weapons, ammunition, rations and a radio, and can be used as a shelter if need be.<ref name = "Xbox"/> It is also possible to store a light vehicle such as a [[M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle]] inside the SOEIV, or even a [[Shiva-class Nuclear Missile|Shiva-class nuclear missile]], although these have been referred to as "more bulky", suggesting a different variant.<ref>''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]'', page 315</ref>

The SOEIV's also store an extra tank of rocket fuel, which is not used up in the landing, but is rather used for moving to a different location if the vehicle has somehow been knocked off target or is in a currently undesirable position. The pod, however, must be stood up in the position designed to land in.

== Appearances ==
The HEVs makes it first appearance in [[Halo 2]] and [[Halo 3]]. In [[Halo Wars]], the HEV is one of the special abilities usable by Captain Cutter to drop down squads of ODST's into battle. However, the complete ODST upgrade is required in order to use this special power. The HEV does not make an appearance in [[Halo: Combat Evolved]], but is mentioned in [[Halo: The Flood]] and has been mentioned through out the fiction. 

=== [[Halo 2]] ===

*[[Delta Halo (level)]]
*[[Regret (level)]]

=== [[Halo 3]] ===
*[[Floodgate (Level)|Floodgate]]
*[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]

=== [[Halo Wars]]===
*All levels with [[Captain Cutter]] as the Leader

== Other Versions ==
=== [[Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod]] ===
[[Image:ElitePod.jpg|thumb|An Elite emerging from his Covenant drop pod.|150px|right]]
An improvement on the SOEIV was the [[Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod]] which came into service around [[2545]]. The long range pods featured a [[Stealth Ablative Coating]] and could be launched from [[Slipspace]]. This pod was used to transport an entire battalion of SPARTAN III's to a covenant controlled planet in OPERATION TREBUCHET in [[Ghosts of Onyx]].

=== [[Orbital Insertion Pod|Covenant Orbital Insertion Pod]] ===
The [[Covenant]] had an SOEIV equivalent known as a [[Orbital Insertion Pod]]. These were used to deploy [[Elites]] during the [[Battle of New Mombasa]]<ref name="dh">[[Outskirts (Level)]]</ref> and to aid [[Spartan-117]] and [[the Arbiter]] during the Flood infestation in [[Voi]]. <ref>''[[Halo 3]]'', level ''[[Floodgate (Level)|Floodgate]]''</ref>. In one of the Halo 2 trailers, most of the [[Elites]] emerging from the OIPs were Special Operations. One of the main differences from their human counterparts is the ability to launch them over long distances away from their ship of origin, while HEV pods must be dropped directly underneath a ship.

=== [[Flood Dispersal Pod]] ===
Even the [[Flood]] parasite employs a similar method of troop-delivery, using a frame of Flood biomass or an encased SOEIV pod to encase single [[Combat Forms]] or a number of Flood [[Infection Forms|Infection Forms]] for surface delivery in a similar manner. These were used by the [[Flood]] to reach the [[Installation 04 (II)|Installation 04 (II)]]<ref>''[[Halo 3]]'', level ''[[Halo (Halo 3 Level)|Halo]]''</ref> although how they were launched is still unknown.

== Trivia ==
*Based on the E3'09 Halo 3: ODST demo footage, it is apparent that the UNSC intended to use SOEIV pods to board [[Regret|Regret's]] [[Assault Carrier]] before it jumped into [[Slipspace]] during the [[Battle of Mombasa|First Battle of Mombasa]].
*SOEIV's are featured prominently in the upcoming ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''.
*In our present time, the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is currently working on [[wikipedia:SUSTAIN (military)|project SUSTAIN]], codenamed Hot Eagle. The basic thought is to have heavily armed [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marines]] launched into suborbital space and then reenter anywhere on earth in less then a total of four hours. Specifications have not yet been revealed to the public.
*Popularly, the concept of dropping individual soldiers onto a planet from orbit in pods is attributed to [[Wikipedia:Robert A. Heinlein|Robert A. Heinlein]]'s novel ''[[Wikipedia:Starship Troopers|Starship Troopers]]''. HEVs in the Halo universe act similarly to those described in the book. ODST doctrine of 'command unit first' also resembles Mobile Infantry doctrine of 'officers first'. Additionally, the ODST tradition of playing the [[ODST]] Anthem prior to a drop is similar to Mobile Infantry traditions in Starship Troopers, with the anthem of the unit's respective troop ship played on their radios during mid drop.
*In Halo Wars Captain Cutter's special ability allows you to drop a squad ODSTs in one of these pods. This inconsistency shouldn't be regarded as canon, as it is undoubtedly applied to enhance gameplay, as the individual arrival of every single SOEIV would cause the feature to be much too slow for practical application.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:50105991-Full.jpg|External view of SOEIV launching tubes at the bottom of the [[UNSC Forward Unto Dawn]].
Image:Halo3-ODST PodConcept-01.jpg|Concept Art from [[Halo 3:ODST]] of a variety of different SOEIV variants.
Image:SOEIV Interface.png|View from inside a SOEIV, with various screens and monitors.
</gallery>

== Sources ==
<references/>
[[Category:UNSC]]
[[Category:Technology]]